Porsche customer team Rutronik Racing took a fantastic second-place finish in this year’s 24 Hours of Spa, battling back from 15th on the grid.
Sven Müller, Patric Niederhauser and Alessio Picariello drove a faultless race in their Porsche 911 GT3 R, fighting through the night before their first taste of the lead early on Sunday.
Heading into the closing stages, a fierce battle commenced, and the result was eventually decided in the final pitstops.
The #96 Rutronik Racing crew saw the chequered flag just 8.7 seconds behind the winning Lamborghini from the Grasser Racing team.
Eleven Porsche 911 GT3 R tackled the endurance classic on the 7.004-kilometre Grand Prix circuit in the Ardennes Forest, which got underway at 16:30 CEST on Saturday, with seven making it to the chequered flag.
Fresh off an LMGT3 class win at Le Mans and second place at the Nürburgring, Porsche achieved another podium result in the third 24-hour race in as many weekends.
In the Intercontinental GT Challenge standings, Müller, Niederhauser, Picariello and Porsche were classified first.
A Porsche 911 GT3 R also won in the Pro-Am class, with the #29 AV Racing by Car Collection Motorsport taking victory. The car was shared by Noam Abramczyk, Mathieu Detry, Fabian Duffieux and Bo Yuan.
‟What a finale! After so many highs and lows, the final four hours at Spa delivered an incredibly exciting finish,” said Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R.
‟Rutronik Racing fought hard for overall victory right up to the end. Finishing second makes us extremely proud of both the team and the drivers. I’d also like to highlight the Pro-Am class win from AV Racing by Car Collection Motorsport.
“After the third 24-hour race in a row, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our customer teams for their fantastic cooperation. With the LMGT3 victory at Le Mans and second places here and at the Nürburgring, we can be proud of our achievements!”
Pro
The #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche was the best finisher, with its second-place result.
After a faultless start from 15th on the grid, the trio had established themselves in fourth place and within striking distance to the front runners after two-thirds distance.
Heading into Sunday morning, Picariello, Niederhauser and Müller from Germany got their first taste of the lead.
A key moment occurred around 12:30 pm: while Picariello headed into the pits for a routine stop, a stricken car triggered a full-course yellow.
This meant that as Rutronik Racing’s mechanics refuelled the 911 GT3 R, the field was restricted to 80 km/h under full-course yellow conditions, allowing a significant time gain for the #96.
With four hours remaining, the trio also benefited from a well-timed pit stop rhythm. As track temperatures climbed above 50 degrees Celsius, the race unfolded into a heated neck-and-neck duel between the #63 Lamborghini - the eventual winner - and the Porsche.
With just over two hours left on the clock, the Grasser Racing Team’s car passed the Rutronik 911 GT3 R to take the lead.
The Lamborghini took its final service 40 minutes before the checkered flag, and despite a slow stop, it was still fast enough for the car to rejoin the track one second ahead of Niederhauser – effectively sealing the result.
One of the big pre-race favourites, the #22 911 GT3 R of the French team Schumacher CLRT, saw its race end just over an hour after the start.
Laurin Heinrich collided at full speed with a slow-running car on its way back to the pits that was hidden from his view by the car in front as he exited the high-speed left-hand bend Blanchimont.
Both drivers were uninjured in the accident, but it was an abrupt end to the race for Heinrich, Ayhancan Güven and Klaus Bachler.
The #18 car of the Italian customer team Dinamic GT had to retire at around 8:15 pm with damage to the front right suspension. Porsche works drivers Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet shared the cockpit with Bastian Buus.
At 1:30 am, the #911 entry from Pure Rxcing also retired after long repair stops. The car of Alex Malykhin and the two Austrian works drivers Richard Lietz and Thomas Preining had previously lost the front right wheel after a pit stop. This damaged the steering as well as the wheel hub.
Gold
Narrowly missing out on the podium, the #120 911 GT3 R from Wright Motorsport finished fourth in the Gold Cup standings.
With Elliott Skeer, Adam Adelson and Thomas Sargent at the wheel, the team made its European racing debut.
It finished the endurance race in Belgium’s Ardennes 16th overall, making it the second-best Porsche customer team.
The #92 Herberth Motorsport crew of Rolf Ineichen, Tim Heinemann and Joel Sturm started on pole in the Gold class and ninth overall after a fantastic qualifying.
Sadly, the team was forced to retire after suffering damage from contact shortly before lunchtime on Sunday.
Silver
In the Silver class, the #54 Dinamic GT crew put in a stellar effort to finish sixth.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R was shared by Jop Rappange, Federico Al Rifai, Eshan Pieris and Sébastien Baud.
Bronze
Lionspeed GP’s #80 car was the top Porsche finisher in the Bronze class, at one point leading the category before contact followed by a penalty dropped them to fourth in class.
Starting from 45th on the grid, the 911 GT3 R piloted by Gabriel Rindone, Patrick Kolb, Riccardo Pera and Ricardo Feller launched a remarkable charge through the field in the dark.
At one point, Feller had climbed as high as 13th overall and led the Bronze Cup standings.
However, a minor collision followed by a spin in the first corner, compounded by a penalty for an unauthorised entry into the endurance pit lane, saw the team slip back to 21st overall and fourth in the Bronze Cup.
The #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche shared by Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer, Robert Renauer and Axcil Jefferies finished sixth in the Bronze class and 25th overall.
On the third lap, the #97 car from Rutronik Racing collided with another car that had spun at the start-finish straight. This resulted in an almost hour-long repair stop.
After that, Antares Au, Martin Rump, Loek Hartog and Morris Schuring continued to be unlucky.
At two-thirds distance, they were in 52nd place, but they made up ground to finish 45th overall and 13th in the Bronze category.
Pro-Am
The #29 AV Racing by Car Collection Motorsport Porsche took victory in the Pro-Am class, finishing 31st overall.
Noam Abramczyk, Mathieu Detry, Fabian Duffieux and Bo Yuan started from 61st on the grid and drove a steady, incident-free race to finish 31st overall.
Full results
Pro
P2 (P2 Pro) Rutronik Racing #96 – Sven Müller (DEU), Patric Niederhauser (CHE), Alessio Picariello (BEL) DNF Dinamic GT #18 – Bastian Buus (DNK), Matt Campbell (AUS), Mathieu Jaminet (FRA) DNF Schumacher CLRT #22 – Klaus Bachler (AUT), Ayhancan Güven (TUR), Laurin Heinrich (DEU) DNF Pure Rxcing #911 – Richard Lietz (AUT), Alexander Malykhin (GBR), Thomas Preining (AUT)
Gold
P16 (P4 Gold) Wright Motorsports #120 – Adam Adelson (USA), Elliott Skeer (USA), Tom Sargent (AUS) DNF Herberth Motorsport #92 – Rolf Ineichen (CHE), Tim Heinemann (DEU), Joel Sturm (DEU)
Silver
P30 (P6 Silver) Dinamic GT #54 – Jop Rappange (NLD), Federico Al Rifai (ARE), Eshan Pieris (LKA), Sébastien Baud (FRA)
Bronze
P21 (P4 Bronze) Lionspeed GP #80 – Gabriel Rindone (FRA), Patrick Kolb (DEU), Ricardo Feller (CHE), Riccardo Pera (ITA) P25 (P6 Bronze) Herberth Motorsport #91 – Ralf Bohn (DEU), Alfred Renauer (DEU), Robert Renauer (DEU), Axcil Jefferies (ZWE) P45 (P13 Bronze) Rutronik Racing #97 – Morris Schuring (NLD), Antares Au (HKG), Loek Hartog (NLD), Martin Rump (EST)
Pro-Am
P31 (P1 Pro-AM) AV Racing by Car Collection Motorsport #29 – Noam Abramczyk (FRA), Mathieu Detry (BEL), Fabian Duffieux (BEL), Bo Yuan (CHN)
